


the Death of Kevin Murphy

by princessofpower



Category: F is for Family
Genre: Character Death, Child Abuse, Death, Multi, Murder, Suicidal Thoughts, Suicide, Unhealthy Coping Mechanisms, Violence, sex abuse mention
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-21
Updated: 2017-12-21
Packaged: 2019-02-17 23:27:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 4
Words: 4,428
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13087671
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/princessofpower/pseuds/princessofpower
Summary: this is a sad story. For some reason I always write tragedies idk man. Basically Kevin is killed and Frank does not deal with this well.





	1. Chapter 1

2 and a half months. That was how long it had been. That was how long at had been since Kevin Murphy seemingly disappeared off the face of the earth. After only two weeks of searching, the police informed the Murphy’s that if they did find Kevin, he would most likely be dead. Their search was now for a body. Sue and Frank held out hope, however. Sue was sure he was still alive somewhere, she could feel it. (Or so she claimed.) 

Every time the phone rang, Frank jumped. His heart beating like wild. His stomach flipping upside-down. Was it Kevin!? Had he stumbled his way to a pay phone!? It never was.

The fantasy played out in his head quite often. It was more and more difficult to concentrate on anything. His mind would wander off whenever it got the chance. In his daydream, he would answer the phone, and Kevin’s voice was on the other end. Sometimes he was sobbing hysterically, other times he was frantic and out of breath. “Dad! Dad!” he’d cry out. “I escaped! They’re after me! Please come and get me!”

“Of course, Kevin! I’ll be right there! Daddy’s on his way! Where are you!?”

He’d drive off into the city and find his little boy inside the phone booth, holding the door closed with all his might. He’d see Frank, come running over and cling to him for dear life. “You found me! I was so scared!”

“I thought I’d never see you again, Kevin!” and he’d squeeze him back.

But it wasn’t real. Kevin was never the one on the phone. 

That evening, the phone rang again. Frank jumped up to answer it. Would it be Kevin this time!? Of course, it was not.

“Mr. Murphy?” A man’s voice asked. One of the detective’s who’d been working on the case. His phone calls were usually uneventful updates. Some sort of lead that seemed so vague Frank couldn’t even understand why it was being mentioned at all. 

“Yes, this is him.”

“You and your wife need to come down to the station right away. We believe we’ve found your son.” Frank could hardly believe his ears. Kevin! They found Kevin! He would finally come home! Frank and Sue were ecstatic as they put on their coats and prepared to head over. Bill and Maureen were asleep, so they locked the doors and headed out.

“My poor baby! Where do you think he’s been? What could have happened to him?” Sue wondered out loud

“We need ta’ be real delicate with him when he comes home. Kid’s probably been through absolute Hell....”

“Oh God.... He’s probably hurt. I have a feeling... What could some monster have wanted with our little boy, Frank?”

“Whoever hurt him, I hope they get the goddamn chair!”

They arrived at the station, looking around but they didn’t see Kevin. Maybe he was being questioned. They were instructed to take a seat, and although the wait was only a few minutes, the anticipation was unbearable.

 Would he be the same old Kevin? Would he be jumpy and terrified, Frank wondered.

He might not be recognizable at first, Sue thought. He was probably starving and thin. He’d want to eat first, that was for sure! They would have to stop at a drive through, they couldn’t possibly make him wait. Poor Kevin probably hadn’t eaten a real meal the entire time he’d been gone. When they got home, he would most definitely want to take a shower. He would probably sleep in the next day, and the next day after that... It was fine. She would let him. Maybe it was best he slept on the couch where she could keep an eye on him, and not that awful cellar... And he certainly couldn’t go back to school right away....

“Mr. and Mrs. Murphy?” Asked a female detective. She lead them into an interrogation room, at least that’s what  it looked like to Frank based on the cop shows he’d seen... Besides the three of them, the room was empty.

“Well... W-where’s Kevin?” Sue asked. 

“Mr. and Mrs. Murphy, this is not going to be easy for you, but I need you both to look at this photo and tell me if this is your son.” She said, emotionless. She produced a large glossy photograph and turned it towards the couple.

It was Kevin’s face. Or rather, Kevin’s body. His skin was pale, his eyes and lips closed. Sue turned away as soon as she registered what the photograph was. “I can’t.” she whispered.

Frank however, could not keep his eyes off of it. It was Kevin, there was no doubt. His face and neck were covered in bruises. His hair had been hacked off, with a knife, he guessed. The boarder of the picture cut off the top of his head. “Why-?”

“We felt the impact of his skull was too graphic for you to see,” she answered instantly. 

He stared for a moment longer, feeling tears prick the corners of his eyes. Finally, he nodded. “That’s... That’s Kevin....”

The policewoman asked them to sit down, as she began pulling the other documents from the file.

At the table, Sue could do nothing but sob, hoping desperately this was a mistake, or a nightmare. Frank only felt numb. He processed everything mechanically, like a machine receiving data input. 

“We’re sorry we didn’t tell you as soon as we found the corpse,” she began, “but we wanted to analyze the body so we would have as much information as possible.” Again, she spoke with no feeling or even sympathy. “The pathologists performed an autopsy this morning. I’ll read you the notes they sent me.” Without pausing, she went right into it. “Severe head wound, skull fracture caused by blunt object. Most likely a rock found at the scene of the crime. Cause of death most likely....” Sue completely tuned out, and sat staring empty with the occasional blink of her eyes. Makeup running down her face, nose dripping. How could this woman sit there and talk about her child like this? As if she was reciting a history lesson or a math formula. Didn’t she care what happened to him? Didn’t she care how she was feeling right now?

“Signs of physical abuse previous to time of death, signs of malnutrition, signs of internal trauma...”

She tuned out again, cradling her forehead in her hands and running her fingers through her hair. She didn’t want to hear any of this, she just wanted to go home.

Within the next few days Frank desperately searched the house for pictures of Kevin to put out. Every time he thought of Kevin, all he could picture was that cold, dead corpse lying on a surgical table, head stitched closed like Frankenstein’s goddamn monster. He needed desperately to replace that image. The one he liked the most was from last Christmas. Kevin beaming ear to ear into the camera, holding up that God-awful _Shire of Frodo_ record he loved so much. Frank hated that album with a passion, and it killed him not hearing it blasting from behind Kevin’s door. He tried to explain to him so many times what he loved about that music, and he’d never listened. Why had he been so dismissive? Why wasn’t he a better father to him? Why wasn’t he there to protect Kevin from whoever was hurting him? Why didn’t he go looking for him himself? He could have saved him...


	2. Chapter 2

_two years later_

The death of his oldest son had forced Frank’s life to a screeching halt. Everything had come crashing down around him, and he couldn’t help but blame himself. He was selfish. He couldn’t help his family deal with their grief because he could only focus on his own. He loved his children, all three of them, of course, but his thoughts always strayed back to Kevin. Seeing Bill score the winning goal, or Maureen win the science fair. He wanted to be proud of them and stay in the moment, but in the back of his mind all he could think was that he wished it were Kevin doing these things. What a disgusting man he must be. He should be here for his kids who were actually alive, not constantly comparing them to their dead brother. Not spending his time wishing things were different then they were.

He was a terrible father, Bill and Maureen deserved better than him. Kevin deserved better too. He was supposed to protect him, and look what happened... He’d like to murder whoever killed his son. Slowly, and make them suffer. But it wouldn’t do any good. Kevin would still be dead, and his other kids would still resent him for spending all his time _thinking about_ how Kevin was dead. He was glad Sue left him. The kids deserved better, and so did she. 

Frank was all but useless now. A waste of a life. He couldn’t be a father to his kids, he couldn’t provide for his family.... He couldn’t even provide for himself. He lived in a dingy apartment, which he was about to lose seeing as he could no longer hold down a job. He couldn’t even keep his home liveable. He was a complete failure.

The apartment was dirty, dishes and garbage left wherever they fell. A layer of dust and grime covered nearly everything. The only thing that stood out besides the filth, was the decor. A monument to his late son. The place was a Kevin Murphy museum. His face was everywhere. Every school picture was displayed in a line, Kevin’s drawings were tacked up on the walls and of course his favourite Christmas picture lived on his bedside table. Kevin had a notebook full of poems or song lyrics, and he liked to flip through from time to time, but his favourite thing was the tapes. Frank had found about a dozen or so tapes Kevin had recorded of himself, or occasionally himself and a friend, playing a song. It wasn’t good music by any stretch of the imagination, but being able to hear his voice was unmatchable. The best parts were in-between the songs, Kevin would sometimes make a comment on his own performance, or give an instruction to someone in the room. One of Frank’s few comforts were these tapes. He listened to them, well, more often then what was probably healthy. 

As it so happened, he was just putting one away. It was important to keep them organized. If he ever lost one, he wasn’t sure what he’d do... He placed it back in the plastic casing and tucked it away in the shoebox. Rubbing his eyes, he took another gulp of beer. He didn’t make it into work today, why bother trying for tomorrow? He slumped down on the couch, staring mindlessly at the TV. He took another swig before placing the can down on the coffee table. He needed to sleep, his body was begging for rest. He didn’t want to sleep. Sleep brought nightmares. Sleep brought that disgusting image, Kevin’s cold, dead body, into his brain. That photograph. The day the funeral director had presented them with that mangled mess of a body, caked in makeup. There was no way in hell they were going to let anybody see that thing... Apparently, some people liked to “say goodbye”, even if the body wasn’t suitable for a real viewing. Sue had wept over that body, but Frank couldn’t even see it as anything resembling his son.

That wasn’t the only thing his tired mind would wander too, though. There was also the imagination. The speculation. They never did find out who killed him, or why... It must have been pure hell. He hoped that, maybe, Kevin had got at least a few days to himself. Living it up and tasting his freedom. That he had run away to some party he didn’t think he’d be allowed to attend. For a couple days at least, he’d been with friends. Maybe they were going to a concert or the beach.... He hoped his son had at least made it. Maybe, on the way home, he’d got a ride with someone. Or decided to hitchhike. Some sicko picked him up and killed him for the thrill of it. Maybe Kevin had passed out from booze, and somebody panicked, tried to stash the body, and killed him in the process. Maybe the aforementioned sicko was a serial killer, looking for scrawny little defenceless boys..... Maybe he was some kind of pervert, and when Kevin resisted....What if he raped him? What if he tied him up? Tortured him for hours? Or days? Months? Told him exactly how he’d kill him? Maybe he taunted him with the idea of letting him go, if only he was good enough. Maybe he took Kevin in as a runaway, and convinced him they were pals? Then, when Kevin pissed him off, he snapped. He felt wetness on his cheeks. Why did he do this to himself? As these possibilities ran through his head, he felt a chill run up his spine. A cold winter breeze drifted through the room. Then, he swore he felt something. It was as if the weight on the couch had shifted. Like it felt when someone came along and sat next to you. He glanced over. Nothing. He felt uneasy. Getting up for another beer, he kept his lookout. Eyes darting around the room. His spine tingled, as if someone were behind him. It wasn’t until he lumbered back over to the living room that he saw something. An outline. It looked like someone was sitting just where he’d felt them. Squinting, he approached the figure with caution. Whatever, or whoever it was, seemed fuzzy. For at least a minute or two. Until, suddenly, like the lens of a camera, it became focused all at once. As clear as day, it was unmistakable.  

“...K-Kevin...?” He choked out, a barely audible whisper. His throat was worn, it was obvious he hadn’t said much of anything in a while.

Kevin stared back at him. His eyes were wide, and seemed almost as if they were glowing. His dark hair was a little longer than Frank remembered, but it still curled in at the ends, clinging to the boys cheeks. Frank moved in closer, still in disbelief. He didn’t want to scare it away. It was eery, but despite that, he hoped against hope he was seeing a ghost, and not a drunken hallucination. A ghost of Kevin wouldn’t hurt him, he was sure. He needed so desperately to talk to him. He sat down where he’d been before , and almost regretted it.

He didn’t scare the spirit like he thought he might, but up close there was more to notice. Like, the deep dark circles under Kevin’s eyes, and how white his skin was. He looked almost like the corpse-Kevin. Only, no Frankenstein scar. Instead, peaking out from his bangs was something bright and red. He was glad it was covered... 

Kevin was decorated in bruises, just like when he’d identified him. Only now, he could see it wasn’t just his face and neck. His arms too. Cuts and scratches covered his skin wherever visible. And, wherever was not, Frank was glad it wasn’t.... His eyes fixated on a particularly bad cut on his sons arm. Out of pure instinct, he asked; “What happened?”

“I got hurt,” was the answer. When Kevin finally spoke, it was quiet and lethargic. Not like the Kevin he remembers. 

“...Does it still hurt...?”

“Yeah. A lot.”

Frank looked up, meeting Kevin’s gaze. His face was wet again. Or still wet. It was hard to tell sometimes. What kind of a cruel God was this? Why was his son still being made to suffer two whole years after his short life had been snuffed out? His oldest was no model child, but what could the boy have possibly done to be deserving of such a fate?

“I’m sorry.”

“It’s not your fault.”

“I’m so sorry...”

“It isn’t your fault, daddy.”

Frank smiled. It was so nostalgic to hear Kevin’s voice again. It reminded him of when he was little. He looked up to him so much. Everything was ‘daddy, watch this!’ and ‘daddy, will you take me here, or do this with me?’. Even as a teenager, it still slipped out sometimes. Kevin could get so excited. ‘You mean it, daddy!? Really!?’ he’d practically bounce up and down. He was so cute. And that cute little boy was still in pain.

“How can I... How can I make it better? How can I fix it?”

“I don’t know. You don’t have to worry about me.”

“But.... I missed you so much.”

“I know. I’ve been watching you.”

“You have?”

Kevin nodded. “I wish you weren’t so sad. You’re always so bummed out.”

“I’m sorry. You must think your old man is pathetic. I just can’t stop thinking about you.”

“Why not?”

“I love you.”

“I love you too, daddy.”

“What happened to you?”

“They killed me.”

“Who?”

“I don’t remember their names. I don’t like to think about it.”

“But why would they do that to you...?”

“They hated me. They were always like that.”

“Why didn’t you come home?”

“I wanted to. They said I could. They said they would take me home. I thought I was gonna see you guys again. They made me promise not to scream.”

“What happened?”

“I don’t wanna talk about it.”

“Well...W-why are you here?”

“I wanted to see you. I miss you a lot. I miss mom and Bill and Maureen, but they never saw me or nothing. I don’t think Maureen remembers me very much.”

“Sure she does....”

Kevin just shrugged. “I can’t believe you kept all this stuff...” he commented, glancing around the room.

“I couldn’t just throw it away....”

“I’m glad you kept it. I like looking at it.”

“Are you here a lot?”

“Yeah. I like to hang out here. But, like I said, you’re always so sad. I wanted to try and cheer you up.”

It was so innocent, it was annoying. He said he was here all the time, didn’t he pay any attention? “How the fuck can you expect me to cheer up? My whole life is fucked! My family is gone! I’m miserable _all the time_! Every day is worse than the last! I’ll never be normal again! I might as well be fucking dead already, Kevin!”

“...Stop yelling at me...” Kevin said meekly, backing away slightly.

Frank took a breath. “I’m sorry, I just... I’m sorry.”

“I don’t like when people yell.”

“I’m sorry, Kevin. Please don’t leave! I just... Everything’s so hard without you.... I mean, the way you.... I wish I knew who did this to you. I’d teach em’ a lesson.”

“I wish I could remember, but it’s hard.... I know they killed other kids. They killed my friend.”

“Your friend...?”

“I mean, I didn’t really know him that well, but... At first, I thought I could protect him but I couldn’t even protect myself.”

“ _I_ should have protected you.”

Kevin looked at him with those big sad eyes, that unfortunately now seemed to be a permanent staple of his sons features. He could understand why... “Daddy, please. Why are you doing this to yourself? Maybe you should get some sleep...”

“N-no! I wanna stay... Stay and talk to you.”

“I’ll come back.”

“When?”

“I don’t know... But I promise I will.”


	3. Bad Ending

“Kevin....? Kevin....?” Frank asked, stumbling through the apartment. He’d been sleeping a few hours at a time, drinking, and then sleeping a little more.... He wasn’t sure how many days it had been. Where was Kevin? He said he’d come back, dammit! Frank slammed his fist against the counter, causing the empty beer cans to shake. One of Kevin’s school portraits fell to the ground and shattered. He thought he should pick it up, but he was glued in one place. Instead, he stared at the dark spot where the noise had come from for several minutes. Then, just as before, the outline of a figure emerged from the blackness....”Kevin! It’s about time!” but he didn’t acknowledge him. Instead, his big glowing eyes darted around the room, as if he did not recognize it. But Kevin said he had been here many times before... It didn’t make sense...

Then, it was as if Kevin’s eyes locked onto something, but Frank couldn’t see anything there... Whatever Kevin could see frightened him even more. He backed himself into a corner, looking utterly helpless. He squeezed his eyes shut and covered his head with his arms. “Please, don’t hurt me!” he begged. 

“There’s nothing there,” Frank tried to tell him. Nothing. He must not be able to hear him. Kevin continued to tremble as Frank cautiously made his way over to him. Tip toeing, not wanting to make any sudden movements. “It’s okay, nothing’s gonna hurt you,” he tried. But again, it he might as well have said nothing at all. Then, some invisible force pulled Kevin to his feet, yanking his shirt and shaking him violently like a limp rag doll. There _was_ something there, Frank just couldn’t see it....And Kevin couldn’t see him. What was going on? Was Kevin being punished? Was he being punished? Was this God’s idea of a sick joke?

Over the course of the next few days Frank got to watch exactly how Kevin got every bruise, cut and scar that was forever burned into his form. He wanted to help, to pull Kevin away but his actions were of no consequence. The invisible people couldn’t be touched. He couldn’t get away from it either. He could hear his son’s shrieks of pain, his cries for help, his pleading and his pathetic sobs. No matter what he did it wouldn’t stop. He stopped drinking, he prayed to god begging and begging but nothing would make it stop. 

It had been two weeks. Kevin had been missing for two and a half months. Was that how long he would have to endure this? Longer? Reluctantly, he stole a glance over at his son’s image. He really tried not to, but sometimes he simply couldn’t help but look. Blood dripped from his mouth as he lay shivering pathetically on the floor. He was muttering to himself, but Frank tried to tune it out. If he was asking himself why nobody had found him and rescued him, if his parents were out looking fro him, he didn’t want to know. If only he could see who was doing this, he could seek some kind of revenge... But he couldn’t... There was only one way to make it go away. He’d have to find something in the medicine cabinet.

That night the torture finally began to cease. Slowly, the sounds became further and further away , as Frank drifted into quiet darkness.


	4. Good Ending

After seeing Kevin’s ghost, or hallucinating him, or whatever the fuck that had been... Frank just wanted to die. More than before, anyways. The guilt was in full force, and worse than ever.  ‘YOU DID THIS. YOU DID THIS. YOU DID THIS!!’ his brain screamed, ‘YOU LET IT HAPPEN! HE WAS YOUR SON! WHERE WERE YOU? WHERE WERE YOU? WHERE WERE YOU?’. Drink. That was all he could do to make it stop. To numb his brain enough to turn off the eternal inner dialogue. If he got too sober, his brain started screaming at him again. ‘WHY? WHY? WHY? HE’S DEAD! HE’S DEAD! HE DIED! HE DIED! _HE DIED_! HE WAS MURDERED! **HE SUFFERED!**  HE NEEDED YOU! WHERE WERE YOU!? WHERE? WHERE? WHERE? WHERE? WHERE?’ He clutched what was left of his hair in his fists and pulled as hard as he could. ‘WHERE, FRANK? WHERE, FRANK? WHERE? WHERE?’ There was only one way to make the torture stop.

That night the torture finally began to cease. Slowly, the sounds became further and further away , as Frank drifted into a quiet, peaceful white light. 

He looked around, at what was an oddly familiar sight. He was in his living room. Not his apartments living room, the family house. It was bright and cheery, and colourful. Had it all been a dream? He took a few steps, and they seemed to echo through the place. Slowly but surly another sound started drifting through the air. Just like the house, he recognized it right away. It was that music. That awful, irritating, wretched, _wonderful_ music! Drifting out from behind the room his sons used to share. 

Opening the door, he was cautious. As if any sudden movement could make this all disappear. As he creeped the door open, he saw him. Kevin was sitting there on his floor, back leaned up against his bed, listening to his record. 

He didn’t look anything like ghost Kevin. No bruises or cuts or wounds. Just an ordinary, healthy and happy looking teenager. He stood in the doorway, not saying anything, not knowing what to think.

“Oh, hey dad.” Kevin greeted him, turning down his music slightly. “You’re finally here. I’ve been waiting for you,” he smiled.

Frank just stood there, not knowing what to say. “Yeah, I.... I guess I am....”

“Yeah. I missed you.”

“I missed you too.”

“Do you wanna listen to this record with me?”

“Yeah. Yeah, Kevin. I would love to....” Again, as if not to break the delicate world around him, Frank carefully sat down beside his son on the floor. Normally, at his age, it’d be uncomfortable to sit in such a position but at the moment he didn’t feel a thing.

“Are you.... Are you still hurting?”

Kevin shook his head. “That was a long time ago. I’ve just been hanging out here.”

“Where is everyone?”

“Don’t worry. They’ll be here eventually. We can hang out together in the meantime.”

Frank didn’t want to risk it, but at the same time he couldn’t let the opportunity pass. He wrapped his arms around his son, pulling him into a tight hug. “I missed you so much!”

“I know! I love you.”

“I love you so much Kevin.”

“Everything’s okay now. Trust me.” Kevin assured, Frank being sure he was skeptical at first too. Somehow though, he knew he was right. He could feel it. Something in his mind just seemed to know. The feeling that he would have an eternity to spend with his son.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you guys liked this story. I do plan on writing more fics for this fandom, cause I love it and there's not nearly enough! If you have any requests or ideas, feel free to shoot me a message!


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